Foldable chair



Nov. 17, 1959 'A. C.,ABAJIAN FOLDABLE CHAIR Filed Nov; 19, 1957 INVENTOR. ARAM CHRISTIAN ABAJIAN FIG. 2.

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FOLDABLE CHAIR Aram Christian Abajian, New York, N-Y. Application November 19, 1957, Serial No. 697,346

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-148) This invention relates to furniture and more particularly to foldable chairs adaptable for stacking when not in use.

There are numerous occasions when it is desirable to have extra chairs. However, a supply of such chairs when not in use must be stored and with present day building costs, additional storage space for chairs in many instances cannot be justified.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a foldable chair arrangement which permits storage in an attractive manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide a foldable chair of such construction as to permit storage with a plurality of similar chairs in a superimposed relation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a chair construction such that a plurality of similar chairs cooperate to be useful as a different article of furniture.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are obtained in one embodiment thereof by providing a foldable chair having its various elements so uniquely constructed and arranged as to permit a plurality of similar chairs to be stacked in a nesting relationship in order to be useful as a different article of fumiture. When the chairs are so stacked, it is contemplated that various features of individual chairs will cooperate with features in the other chairs of the stack to present an overall appearance which is pleasing and attractive and, in addition, is useful for other purposes.

For a more complete understanding of these and other objects of the present invention, reference may be had to the description which follows and to "the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of folded, stacked chairs illustrating the principle of the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a folded chair in cooperative, stacked relation with another similar chair; and

Figure 3 is a side view in elevation of an opened chair for seating purposes.

Referring now to an illustrative embodiment of the invention as shown in the drawings, the numeral refers generally to a stack of folded, individual chairs constructed and arranged according to the invention. In the form shown in Figure l, the arrangement is useful as, for example, a table, and it presents an attractive appearance. A lamp, vase, books, or other objects may be placed on the stack 10 to add further decorative value to this arrangement. Support is provided for this stack 10 by suitable leg members 13 which may, if desired, be fastened to a separate stand or platform, not shown, or alternatively, the legs of the lowermost chair could provide the support for the stack.

For the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, each chair is dimensioned such that the side surfaces, for example 11 and 12, of the stack 10 are substantially verticle and flat to present a box-like shape. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this configuration, it being equally adaptable 'ice to other configurations as, for example, pyramidal, cylindrical, or the like. When it is desired to have one or more of the chairs for sitting purposes, each chair unfolds as shown in Figure 3. v

The details of construction for a chair to obtain the features described above are shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. In'this view, an upright or back portion 14 is shown folded against andin flush engagement with a base or seat portion 15 The two' leg members 16Jand 17 arev folded withinand disappear into a recess or opening 18 on the underside of the seat portion 15. ',Any

suitable folding mechanism well known to the art'n'lay be provided for the leg members 16 and 17 and for the back portion 14, it only being necessary in the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated that the leg members disappear into the recess 18 and the back portion 14 be foldable against the seat portion 15.

A partition 19 attached between the sides 20 of the seat portion 15 forms a support for a seat cushion 21. In like manner, a partition 22 is fixedly positioned between the sides 23 of the back portion 14 to support a back cushion 24. The material forming these cushions 21 and 24 may be any suitable resilient material such as, for example, rubber, cotton, plastic and the like.

When a plurality of similar chairs constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention are stacked in a superimposed relation, a groove 26 along the lower inside of each side 20 of each seat portion 15 cooperate with a groove 27 along the back edges of the back portion 14 of respective adjacent chairs to permit the folded chairs to form transitive joints between each other. By this arrangement, the chairs form a slight nestingv relationship with each other to lock the chairs together and to present a better appearance when stacked. When it is desired to omit the back portion 14, it is only necessary to form the groove 27 in the upper surface of the side 20 of the seat portion 15. Of course, it is understood that other joint arrangements may be used as, for example, dowels, notches and the like, the particular joint illustrated being preferred because of the simplicity of construction and because it does not detract from the appearance of the chair when unfolded for seating purposes. However, it is preferred that the joint, whatever type is selected, be of a transitive nature so that'a predetermined, overall appearance is achieved. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, a slight gap 28 is formed to present a horizontal, lined effect as shown in Figure 1. It is also desirable, in other instances, that no gap be formed so that completely smooth side surfaces are presented by the stacked chairs. Also, it is contemplated that other surface configurations are within the scope of the invention.

The exact configuration illustrated is regarded as the optimum, but some of the desirable results inherent in this disclosure may be obtained by various slight modifications, including some departure from the exact configuration shown, and itis, therefore, to be understood that the scope of the invention be regarded as limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A foldable chair having a seat portion comprising at least four side members enclosing a substantially rectangular area, a flat partition member supported between said four side members in a substantially horizontal position, said side members and said partition member forming a first recess defined by the upper surface of said partition member and said side members and forming a second recess defined by the lower surface of said partition member and said side members, a first cushion supported by said partition member within said first recess, said first cushion having a thickness substantially equal to the depth of said first recess, leg members extending from theunderside ofvsaid seat portion and fold-i able within said second recess, and said foldable chair having a back portion comprising at least four side members enclosing a substantially rectangular area, a first partition member supported between said side members, said side members and said partition member forming a first recess defined by a first surface of said partition member and said side members and -forming a second recess defined by the opposite surface from said first surface of said partition member and said side members, a second cushion attached to said first surface of said partition member within said first recess, said second cushion having a thickness substantially equal to the depth of said first recess, a cover formed integrally with said four side members and totally enclosing said second .recess to form a substantially rigid top when said back References Cited in the file of this patent -UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,566,818 Babit. Sept. 4, 1951 

